Voids in the Heart
by SillyBunny88
Summary: Nori Ishikawa is never alone. Instead she has her stone necklace- a stone necklace with a Zanpakuto spirit trapped inside both it and her head. Nori must quickly learn to wield the powers that Kame, the trapped spirit, is giving her. She knows however that one day Kame will be gone and she will gain another void in her heart. Rated M for later chapters. On hiatus.
1. Newcomer

"Hmmm…"

"What is it?"

The sound of fan snapping open resonated through the small room. Two men sat around a round wooden table. They had been simply enjoying some tea a few minutes ago, but now the man with the blond hair and striped hat seemed troubled. He only pulled that fan out for two reasons: scheming or pondering. The larger dark skinned male had the feeling that this time it was the latter of the two options.

"Kisuke?" The brawny male questioned as he watched the man fan himself slowly.

"My good friend, Tessai. Do you feel that?"

The man named Tessai froze at the question and attempted to find what his boss was talking about. He expanded his spiritual pressure slightly in an attempt to get a better feel of what Kisuke was speaking about.

"It feels like-" Tessai felt slightly troubled by what he was going to say. "Like… A rather powerful new spiritual pressure has entered the town… but when?"

Kisuke chuckled. "Yeah, it's not strong enough to be a Soul Reaper, and I haven't gotten any word of the Soul Society sending anyone over here recently but…" he snapped the fan shut and glanced up from the shadows that were cast over his eyes by his hat "It's definitely strong enough to attract some Hollows. And by the way it's leaking out I'd say that the person has no clue what kind of bait they're setting~".

A strange silence settled over the men for a short span of time.

"And what should we do about it boss?"

The blonde man grinned in his mischievous way "Why go find out who it's coming from before a whole ruckus starts of course~"

Tessai merely nodded "I'll go alert Ururu and Jinta that we will be leaving soon".

* * *

"If this doesn't suck, I don't know what does-" I stopped walking for a moment to kick an old empty can out of my path.

**_"Vacuum cleaners do…"_**

The can continued to bounce down the alley as I gave a soft snort of laughter and smiled a little at Kame's joke. The necklace that his spirit resided in warmed softly with approval for my appreciation of his joke. That'd never get old.

"Well nonetheless, getting stuck in this stupid town with that stupid women and having to deal with all the stupid kids- and then those stupid men telling me that I should meet them at that stupid shop-"

**_"You use the adjective stupid quite often, Nori. Perhaps we should see if they have a thesaurus at this "stupid" shop. It could do you some good."_**

I rolled my eyes but smiled at Kame's comment "Well perhaps if we were in a better place where the adjective 'stupid' didn't apply so much then maybe I'd have a wider range of words to choose from."

Sensing the impending approach of wall, I turned left without any trouble. Kame's deep chuckle rumbled in my head and bounced off the walls of my brain. I could even feel the slight tremble in my necklace that stuck to the skin in the small dip between my clavicles.

It hasn't moved from that exact spot since the day my great-grandmother had put it on me. It didn't matter how much I tugged or strained or jumped about; it was almost as though it was glued to my skin.

In a sense it was though. Kame had explained to me during the beginning that his spirit, which had been trapped within this stone long ago, was beginning to merge with mine. His spirit had been waiting for mine, bidding it's time to find my spiritual pressure in order to pass on the gift that he could no longer utilize due to his trapped state. These powers came at a price of course…

**_"You're not employing the powers that I'm giving you, Nori."_**

Sighing at this warning of an oncoming lecture I stopped walking, listened for any cars, and deciding that none were approaching started to cross the narrow road.

"I'm only blind in one eye, Kame. I can still see so what's the point?" I mounted the sidewalk on the other side and continued on my way. "The necklace isn't even close to merging completely anyways, so that means I got time."

I put my hands behind my head as I enjoyed the feeling of basking in the warmth of the sun.

**_"The degradation of your sight and the merging of the stone into your flesh are on two different timelines. Of all people I would've at least thought you would've noticed this."_**

I deadpanned at his statement. "What do you mean 'of all people'" I questioned him. "I'm the only one alive that knows about this whole ordeal, may I remind you. And thanks for the update, that would've been nice to know in the beginning yah know."

If Kame had been a blood and flesh person in front of me I could picture his eye twitching at my tone and comments. Heck- I could feel the necklace itself twitching in annoyance.

**_"It is not my job to tell you everything, Nori. I will not always be here to provide information. Your sight began to die as soon as this necklace was placed on you and I feel that it will continue to die in a linear fashion; however, the speed of me being absorbed relies almost solely upon your usage of the power."_**

I wasn't about to get caught up in that whole trap about him disappearing once the unification completed. That's happened one too many times. I didn't really enjoy the idea of being stuck all by lonesome in my head; I've had his company since I was 5. Kame had also filled the void that both my real parents had left when they dumped me on my great-grandmother as soon as I was born.

Sighing I scratched the back of my head in slight irritation at the new information. "Okay so it isn't your job to tell me _everything_ but can you at least remind me why I agreed to go to that big dude's and creepy guy's shop?"

**_"They're Soul Reapers."_**

"You're gonna have to give me a little more than just that, Kame" Growling and talking to myself had caught the attention of a few other people walking. I could feel their stares of concern and disgust boring into me. I really didn't care.

I could feel Kame stirring around in both my head and the necklace as he seemed to be getting ready for a longwinded explanation. I wasn't exactly excited for it but I was interested. It's not every day that a voice in your head bounces around in anticipation and yells at you to agree to go to some place that you've never been to before just because two random guys ask you.

**_"I know I've told you about Soul Reapers and Hollows and all that before, so I feel that that's not what you need more information on…"_** he paused a second before continuing **_"They introduced themselves as Tessai and Urahara, which do ring some bells on the list of powerful Soul Reapers-"_**

"So why are they here then?"

**_"Will you at least allow me to finish what's important here?"_**

Huffing out "Well sor-ry. Seems pretty important to me but whatever, Kame" and crossing my arms I continued to make my way to the shop using the directions I was given yesterday by the two strange men.

**_"Anyway, I believe they could be of much use to us. He could train you and increase your understanding of how to use your powers; not to mention it's a well-known fact that where there are Soul Reapers, there are some adventures to be had."_**

My ears automatically perked up at that.

"Oh? Well Kame you really know how to get my attention."

I chuckled a little bit as I danced out of the way of nearly getting clipped by a person racing the opposite way towards me. Kame let out a tired sigh. Probably had something to do with that fact that that would've been much easier to dodge had I been using the earth.

The next 10 minutes were complete silence.

Silence between Kame and I was never suffocating silence like it usually was with flesh and blood people. It was more like a peaceful understanding. Despite the total silence, it wasn't like Kame was completely gone either though. During times like this I could still feel him within the depths of my mind; he was sort of like a weight that sat on my brain.

Kame claimed he could retreat completely into necklace if he really wanted to, which from my understanding would grant me privacy to my own thoughts. I saw no point though, I had nothing to hide. Kame knew me well enough that I was comfortable with him hearing and seeing all my thoughts and I saw no other point to taking an action such as that.

The shop finally came into view to my relief. I was getting tired of just walking around and getting stupid looks from people for either talking to Kame (which for the record, yes I am aware it looks like I'm talking to myself like a crazy person) or for my eyes. Eyes that are blind tend to be very glassy or clouded, and my glassy orange eye stood out, I guess. Orange eyes tend to stick out already, never mind a blind one.

"Thank god, I-"

I was still walking slowly but a sudden weird feeling shot through my body, right to my core. My skin tingled and the hair on the back of my neck stood up on end. And now I was suddenly aware that my breathing was slightly labored.

**_"Nori, it's okay. You merely passed through a barrier. It seems to surround this entire shop. That's definitely a sign that this was a good place to come to."_**

Feeling better now that my skin stopped tingling and my hair was back in its rightful place, I picked up the pace slightly. I was still feeling slightly frazzled from that though.

"Yeah well I don't like how that felt" I turned my head to the right slightly and spit. "That felt just wrong."

**_"It's normal to feel odd passing through a barrier for the first time. Stack that on top of the fact that it's a strong barrier and the fact that you have heightened senses… it's no wonder it got you so worked up."_**

I let out a quiet "hmph" as I climbed the steps to the shop. As I pushed the door open a small bell chimed to alert that I had walked… it probably would've had more use if there was actually someone here. I glanced around in wonder of the lack of people. The air felt like little electric bubbles on my skin though.


	2. Taking Care of Business

_"Someone is here though, and they are powerful. Feels like that Urahara guy from yesterday."_

"Ah~ so you did decide to show after all" the blond man slid close another door and approached me with a grin as he fanned himself "How wonderful~ So…"

I stared at him blankly, waiting to see if he was going anywhere with this. He remained quiet as he studied me.

"So…? You gonna say anything or just stare at me?"

**_"Don't be disrespectful, Nori"_** Kame's deep voice scolded me.

"He's a stranger though- what respect do I owe him?" I jumped as the hatted man's voice broke my concentration on what Kame was going to say.

"Can I get in on this conversation that you're having without me~?"

"Uh…" I hadn't realized that I had actually voiced my sassy question to Kame aloud in front of this stranger. But what struck me as even more odd was the fact that he didn't seem very spooked by the event.

My right eyebrow shot up to my hairline as he materialized a fan from nowhere and began to fan himself and hide his half-smirk with the object, "Come join me for some tea at the table, miss~ we can continue to talk about some important things over there as well."

He opened the rice paper door for me and gestured me through it, to which I just shrugged and walked through. Once he had closed it he led me shortly down a hallway and gestured me into another room that had some cushions lying around a wooden table. He took his seat in a relaxed position and once again materialized the fan. The table had already been set with two cups and a kettle sat in the middle.

"Please have a seat~" He eyed me through the shadows cast by his hat.

I began walking towards the opposite side of the table to another cushion when I decided to voice a question that had just come to me "Urahara, this isn't like a setup for a porn audition is it? Because if it is, I'm sorry to inform you but no I don't take the offer."

**_"Nori!"_**

His expression changed to mild shock before it morphed into him giggling pretty hard. I said nothing as I sat on my legs and folded my hands in my lap, and made sure my back was straight. I may not be the most mannered person ever, but I do know how to sit properly at least. Kame's voice continued to echo around in the back of my head however as he reprimanded me once again for how I "conduct" myself "inappropriately, like a baboon". I could hear it though; Kame was slightly entertained by my lack of a verbal filter.

Urahara began to sober up and he studied me closely "Please, call me Kisuke~ I have to say…" he trailed off.

"Ishikawa, Nori."

He smiled as he reached over to pour some steaming tea into my cup, "Well Nori, you have quite a way with words."

I looked at him dead in the eyes "Really? My great-grandmother preferred to refer to it as 'diarrhea of the mouth'".

Kisuke chuckled and set the kettle back in the middle of the table after serving himself "I suppose that's another way of describing."

Kame seemed to have given up on trying to lecture me on ways of conduct and being "appropriate". He's always known that I never really paid any attention to that sort of stuff; however, he's always persevered no matter what. I guess that seeing how laid back Kisuke was about my attitude and way of talking had mellowed him out slightly.

He hummed slightly thought as he took a sip of his tea. "So," he set the small ceramic cup back down with a slight 'thump', "this may seem a little farfetched, but the reason that Tessai and I had approached you yesterday was because you seem to have-"

"Powers? Spiritual pressure? A necklace that has an old Zanpakuto spirit in it? A blind eye?"

Kisuke froze for second them stared at me again. He seemed to be calculating me and what to do next.

**_"Nori, what are you doing?"_**

_"Well you were sure he's a Soul Reaper, so what in those sentences would surprise him? I doubt I'm telling him anything too new."_

Kame settled slightly at that.

"I see that you know more than we had estimated earlier…" His eyes drifted to my necklace.

It wasn't anything flashy, not by a long shot. It was merely a flat grey stone, like the ones that were good for skipping rocks on the water, and a perfectly symmetrical oval. A black ribbon was wrapped securely around it and finished as a bow on the back of my neck. I suppose Kame's home seemed rather plain to a normal person, but anyone would see upon closer inspection that there were hints of green minerals that sparkled. Get close enough and you can even feel the very energy of Kame in the stone.

I don't let people get close enough for that.

"Hmmm…" Kisuke's fanning increased "So that necklace is the key to this whole thing?"

"It's more like I was the key and the necklace was the lock."

Kisuke's smirk reappeared "Mind telling me the story?"

"Not really."

He nodded as a cue to tell me to continue. The expression on his face was utter concentration on everything I was about to say.

"My great-grandmother gave it to me."

It was silent for a minute.

"And…?" Kisuke attempted to continue me to go on.

"That's all," I lifted the cup to my lips and took a quick sip of the steaming tea inside "there's not much of a story to how I got it. It had been in my family for hundreds of years before my great-grandmother and I discovered that I was soul that Kame had been waiting for to merge his powers with" I clarified.

"Kame?"

"Yeah the Zanpakuto spirit inside is name Kame. He's cool."

"Turtle… so some sort of power to do with earth I'm guessing?"

I nodded to confirm his suspicions "Power over earth".

"Like Toph from Avatar the Last Airbender~" He grinned at his idea.

Being in the middle of a sip, tea sputtered from my mouth and I felt my right eye twitch. It was not only caused by merely Kisuke's drawn similarities to that fictional character- this new information that there was a girl named Toph that was apparently similar to me had sparked Kame's interest and all I could hear in my own head was him talking about how he needs to meet her and how we need to ask her questions about training. My fucking head was going to explode.

I could feel a vein on my forehead sticking out as I jumped to quickly correct him. "No Kisuke! Not like Toph! Okay?! And oh my god Kame, shut up! She's from a cartoon on TV!"

"And what makes you think we aren't~?" Kisuke sung as fanned himself and enjoyed some more tea.

**_"Well I have to admit that that was a slight disappointment."_**

I massaged my temple as I slammed the cup back down on the table. "Look I wasn't born with these powers like her. They're Kame's powers; I never originally had them. As I said before, I was the key and he was the lock. I unlocked his powers that I now have."

Kisuke face conveyed extreme interest in this whole thing. "How did Kame get trapped in that stone? If he was originally a Zanpakuto spirit then he should've died when his wielder died."

I listened to Kame go over the whole story again- or at least the portion he knew of- for a minute. It must've looked odd to Kisuke as I continued to 'mhm' and nod to an invisible person.

"Well" I paused to make sure I had the story in order "Kame doesn't know the entirety of what went on and he doesn't remember all of it either… from what he's told me, he had been wielded by a person who was at war with themselves. They were having choosing between the good and evils sides. Eventually, they decided that the power that Kame gave them could no longer be theirs because it wasn't safe any longer; they were afraid of what sort of damage could be done once they were consumed by their darkest desires and interests.

So… they used some sort of ancient… kido? Kame isn't sure about the specifics on that part, but he was sealed into a stone. Into the very element he controlled. Ah, there is something interesting about the whole thing though."

During the whole story and explanation Kisuke had been leaner closer and closer to the table in intent listening fashion. He reached towards the kettle to pour us both more tea, "And what's that?"

"That this person that wielded him wasn't alone. He believes that if memory serves him correctly, there had been some sort of… band of them. A group of Soul Reapers that had Zanpakuto like him. He feels that there are more stones like him of the other elements it seems."

Kisuke looked rather skeptical as whisked his tea around slightly, "There are many Soul Reapers that wield elemental Zanpakuto though."

"No," I shook my head, "He means like what he had been. A raw element Zanpakuto- like… a Zanpakuto that has complete control over an element. There's no need to call out attack names or anything, you just use your will and the Zanpakuto controls the given element."

All Kisuke had to say to that was a short 'hmmm'.

I jumped slightly as the bell in the front of the shop rung and a voice boomed through the shop.

"We're home, boss!"

"I'm just in the backroom discussing business with Miss Ishikawa, Tessai" Kisuke yelled to the front of the store "We should be done shortly, so just keep Ururu and Jinta busy for a while~"

I shifted and groaned at the feeling of my feet falling asleep. Kisuke waited until I was settled into a more comfortable position before he went on.

"I've never heard of such a Zanpakuto before, but I can't refute it either. Zanpaukto's ability greatly depends on the person that wield them, so therefore it is very possible that there could be others~ as for them being trapped in stone too… haha well that we may never know~ it would take my lifetimes to check every stone there is."

He eyed up my necklace again "Can it ever taken off?"

I shook my head and watched as his eyes lit up in attentiveness when I explained to him the whole 'this necklace and spirit are getting sucked into my body' speech.

"So in turn for his powers, you gave up your vision?"

I frowned at the way he worded, "You make it sound like I had a choice in the whole mess. It's more like I'm the only soul that he could bestow his powers up, but in order to make me understand and appreciate them properly my vision must be sacrificed."

Kisuke bobbed his head "It's all very interesting I have to say… And I also have to say that I agree~" He smiled as though he was proud of himself.

"Agree to what?"

"I agree to training you of course~" he chuckled.

"Um when did we…"

**_"Why question it, Nori? He's strong and he knows what he's doing. This is a great opportunity for us- and for you more importantly."_**

"Oh- okay then I guess."

"Great~"


	3. When Life Seems Its Bleakest

Everything was oddly quiet- well it wasn't all too odd. It was typical for the mornings to be rather quiet in this part of Karakura Town. I was currently strolling down the street on my way to school. I sighed in discontent. It was the first day of my second year at this high school.

**_"If you don't hurry up you may not make it on time."_**

Ah- leave it to Kame to start worrying about me getting to school on time. I merely laughed at his comment, much to his displeasure. It didn't matter if I was late; the teachers didn't care.

They simply viewed me as a handicap child. When this school learned that I was planning on walking to there and back alone they threw a whole fit. I wasn't smart in their eyes and I wouldn't "be able to defend myself if the time called for it." I was "incapable" of performing such a task as difficult as walking around town by myself.

The freaking words they said really got my gears grinding.

In the end I had to attend a meeting with my "mother" in tow just so we could argue with the Board of Education over something as trivial as this. My by-law-mother, Yumiko, actually cared for me at that time and argued that I had taken Kendo as a child and even some karate. I wasn't completely helpless in her eyes at least.

If only they all knew the truth like Kame and I do… and a few other people.

**_"Nori-"_**

"Yeah I've felt them since we passed that alley. They've been following us a few blocks. It seems like-" I closed my eyes and focused tightly, "three men. They're not too big."

Kame was about to comment on what I had just said but a voice cut him off.

"Hey girly!" A rather annoying male voice yelled out from behind me.

I turned around, not at all surprised by their presence. I had felt them walking closer and the vibrations that went through the ground to my feet told me just how close they were. However I was surprised that they too were wearing my school's uniform.

"You can make this easy for yourself and just give us all the money you got, or you can make this fun for us and not comply! Your choice!"

I glared at them harshly. "Why don't you go stick your thumbs up each other's butts and leave me alone?"

They looked rather startled by my question at first, but they weren't quiet for long. The group started to come a few steps closer. I guess they were slightly pissed by my comment.

"Look here," the leader started all over again and aggressively shoved his pointer finger at me, "we're in charge! You're gonna do what we say or pay the price."

**_"Nori, be careful."_**

_"Psh I got this, Kame. Don't even worry about it."_

My glare intensified and allowed myself to get into a more aggressive stance before I started growling at them. "No. You listen here and listen well. You all have exactly three seconds to get the fuck out of here and leave me alone before I break you like twigs."

The leader stared at me unfazed but his two lackeys behind him looked slightly spooked.

"1…"

The leader's eyes narrowed slightly and his buddies started to shake more.

"2."

"You're bluffing!" He looked at me straight on but I could see the slight fear in his eyes; while his friends looked like they were going to faint any second.

I paused menacingly before hissing "3" at them and lunging forward. His two buddies screamed like little girls and ran off but he lunged at me too.

He threw a sloppy punch that I easily dodged. Moving quickly I slipped past him to dodge an attempted kick to the face. His long leg flung towards me but I caught it easily in my hands and spun him off the ground.

The thug landed with a loud "uff" but sprang back up in a flash to lunge at me with a yet another punch. I saw the attack coming long before he actually attempted it, so I merely sidestepped him, hooking my foot around his ankle to pull his legs out from under him. This time when he landed face first he wasn't so quick to get back up.

His miffed face when he finally did pull himself out of dirt to get up was quite funny. Unlike the previous time I knocked him down he didn't attempt to attack me this time. Instead he just turned and started to walk away with slouched shoulders like a sore loser.

"Tch that didn't even make me break a sweat. Damn idiots better leave me the hell alone if I see them at school."

I watched his turned back walk away from me a couple meters before I flicked my foot up. He tripped with a string of curse words and stumbled forward into a chain-link fence; I chuckled slightly and turned back to the direction that I had been heading in before the commotion.

**_"You've improved a lot I have to say. We have Kisuke to thank for that one,"_** he paused for a minute and I closed my eyes in pleasure at the compliment, **_"but did you really have to trip him with that rock like that? Nevertheless, speaking of Kisuke, remember that he wants to have a tea celebration with you at the shop after school."_**

* * *

_"Oh god this place seems so stuffy."_

**_"You should enjoy at least having this one normality in your life. You have talking necklace that's giving you powers, you're friends with powerful Soul Reapers, and you've seen things that very few people can explain."_**

_"Maybe I don't like normality. Maybe I prefer weirdness." _I grumbled mentally.

I never liked school. They always gave me problems; if it wasn't the older kids bothering me, it was the teachers annoying me with the way they treated me, or dealing with my lack of friends.

_"Well at least it's my second year in high school so I get a little bit of seniority now. Plus I am a much better fighter." _I grinned at the thought of pummeling those snotty ass kids that always picked on me.

**_"School is neither the time nor place for fighting like that, Nori. You'd get in a lot of trouble. Just think before you act."_**

I huffed quietly.

I laid low in my first class: history. I was able to skim by in math too, and even had no trouble in our kanji lesson. I guess I was just lucky that my class was full of kids that I didn't mind; as opposed to last year when it was teeming with assholes. And my teacher was a nice lady as well so that was a good change from the old hag I had last year.

"Alright guys! It's lunch time so go have your lunches but be back here before the bell rings or you'll be late!"

And that was my cue to take cover. I realized towards the end of last year that the easiest way to get by lunch without any problems was to make my way over to the library. The sigh clearly said "NO FOOD OR DRINKS". I found though that after I had frequented there quite a few times the librarian didn't really mind me eating there as long as I was away from the books in the far back corner.

It was the perfect place to hide.

**_"Who's that?"_**

Upon arriving at the library Kame was just as surprised as I was to see someone else already here. It was a tall boy with dark blue hair and glasses. He had a few books laid out on the table and was bent over them, studying something I couldn't see. I don't why but I felt compelled to see what this boy was so intent on learning and studying on the first day of school.

"Whatcha reading?"

He looked at me; surprise was on his face for a whole of 3 seconds before he returned to what he was looking at.

"Oh- uh nothing of much importance. Just studying." His eyes drifted from the page to try to study my eyes discreetly.

"Yeah I'm blind in one, what's it to you?" His face turned slightly red as he was embarrassed for being caught in the act of staring, "You must be a first year student here I take it then."

He looked away then back at me, "Yeah I am. My name is Ishida, Uryu."

I chuckled a little, "Well what do you know? Seems were more alike than I thought. I'm Ishikawa, Nori."

**_"There's something about this boy, Nori. I can't put my finger on it though."_**

_"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Kame, but you can't put your finger on anything because you don't have any."_

Kame seemed rather annoyed by that comment.

"I guess so but the kanji reading and the kanji 'ishi' itself is actually-"

I flicked him in the nose, "I was just trying to lighten the mood is all, geez." I looked over the table in front of me then back at Uryu, "You do know it's lunch time now, right?"

His face looked slightly panicked "Ah I didn't- I suppose I should get out of here and find somewhere to eat."

I stood up and closed a couple of the books that had been scattered on the table, "Nah you don't need to do that. Just stay here and eat; that's what I'm doing."

"There's a sign outside on the door that clearly states we can't do that. Are you trying to get me in trouble as a prank?"

Quickly I held my hands up in surrender and laughed "No of course not. I'm serious," I moved to sit at a table a little further back and opened up my lunch box, "See? The librarian knows I'm not a terrible kid so she doesn't mind. I'm doing you a favor because we're 'ishi' siblings."

Uryu looked slightly unsure of how to take my gesture at first. "Well," he fixed his glasses and they shined in the light for a minute, "I suppose it would only be proper since you reminded me it was lunch time…"

I gave him a slight smirk as he too moved to my table and sat across from me, "Congratulations on being the first person I've met the whole year I've lived here that doesn't annoy me."

**_"I've got it. He's a Quincy."_**

_"A Quincy? What's that?"_

Kame went on to explain exactly what a Quincy was quickly, and with perfect timing since as soon as he finished a loud voice rang through the library.

"Hi Uryu!" A big chested girl with orange hair came bounding over.

I raised an eyebrow at him as she approached our table and started rambling, "Oh Uryu I saw you through the door and thought I'd say 'hi' because-" she stopped and looked at me swiftly before turning back to him, "Oh I'm sorry Uryu! I didn't know you were having lunch with your girlfriend here!"

I bit back laughter at the sight of Uryu's priceless expression; even Kame was slightly tickled from the whole scene.

"Ah haha sorry I'm not Uryu's girlfriend." I smiled at her, "We're just eating lunch together because this loser almost studied right through lunch. I'm Ishikawa, Nori."

She beamed at me, "Nice to meet you, Ishikawa! I'm Inoue, Orihime!" Then she looked apologetically at the frazzled Uryu, "and sorry about that Uryu."

I waved off her earlier properness, "Just call me Nori."

Orihime looked at me happily and agreed. Then she looked around the library silently.

"You know I was going to join Tatsuki for lunch but she had to go see the new coach about training. Do you mind if I join you?"

I shook my head, "Not at all, Orihime. I take it that you're a first year student here too, so there's no problem with it. Sometimes it's hard to find spots to eat when you're a first year."

She put her pointer finger on her chin and a pondering look came to her face, "I wonder if Ichigo has found a place to eat… oh well I bet he's fine! Who wants to try some of my new food that I've made?"

Orihime proceeded to hold up her lunch box in offer and the contents inside of it seemed slightly odd. I raised an eyebrow at her.

_"She seems slightly ditzy…"_

**_"But she obviously means well."_**

_"Yeah. She seems alright by my books."_

For the remaining lunch time we had we just mainly talked about our classes and what we were going to do after school. Uryu bragged about his intelligence and his test scores; to which I playfully punched him and told them about _my_ test scores and "elephant memory", as my great-grandmother used to call it. Orihime made sure to get our conversation off track by stuffing one of her creations into Uryu's mouth while he was talking.

It was probably one of my best lunches.


	4. Hold Your Friends Close

I continued to stare at Ichigo and the small new girl with black hair as I stood in the doorway of his classroom. Everyone was just treating her so normally, like they've known her for a while- well besides Ichigo that is. He actually seemed rather confused by her presence. Speaking of Ichigo…

_"Something is off, Kame. That girl… she's gotta be the same girl that showed up with that Hollow's presence last night. She's a Soul Reaper. There's not a doubt in my mind. But Ichigo… Ichigo is different…"_

**_"Ah yes I sense that too. It seems that he too is a Soul Reaper- but he must be a substitute one when you consider the circumstances." _**

I felt my eyes widen.

What?

"Why good morning, Nori!" I sidestepped the form of a flying Keigo and walked over to Ichigo as he lay there whining about how I was so mean to him.

"So Ichigo," I jabbed my elbow into his ribs, "Who's your new friend?"

"Ah-? Nori? What are you doing here? Don't you have class?"

I looked up at him with an are-you-stupid look, "It's my last year, smart stuff. All I really have to do is study for those stupid college entrance exams, the teachers don't really care. But anyway, back to what I asked you earlier."

"Hi I'm Kuchiki Rukia." The mystery girl stepped up to me and smiled.

I smiled too because you know- it's nice to be taller than someone for once, "Hey there I'm Ishikawa Nori. Just call me Nori though. It's nice to meet you." I turned back to Ichigo and waggled my eyebrow, "So is there anything you want to tell me about, sir?"

It was an honest question. I wasn't just attempting to make fun of him- okay a little bit- but I also had the double meaning of him being a Soul Reaper. He didn't look like he really knew how to react so I focused my attention on Rukia again.

"So you're the new second year I've been hearing about, yeah? Whatcha doing hanging out with a loser like this guy?" I put one hand on my hip and jabbed my thumb in his direction.

Rukia opened her mouth to answer but Ichigo cut her off. "What do you mean 'loser', Grandma?"

My eye visibly twitched and I stomped on his foot. Ichigo let out string of curse words while Rukia laughed at his expense. I couldn't help but chuckle a bit. We had an odd relationship, as I do with all of my friends, but we actually got along pretty well.

I had met Ichigo the same day I met Orihime and Uryu. I had been in my study hall when those three punks that had tried to jump me earlier that morning showed up. They of course recognized me and were just asking to get beat into their graves when they started calling me names; I refuse to be called 'Pirate Eye' and not do anything about it. Then right before I was about to lay them out, Ichigo pops out of nowhere and straightens them out for me.

It was only understandable that I was a little peeved with him for taking my fight, but I could see that he had good intentions. It was only necessary that I stomp on his foot to show my appreciation in my own way. Despite us calling each other a few names after that, I called him a 'neon bitch' and he referred to me as 'Grandma', we became unlikely friends.

_"Oh my gracious that was a whole entire year ago. I'm getting old." _I whined in my head to Kame as Orihime came over to talk to Rukia.

**_"You're getting old? Then what does that make me? I have lived longer all of the people in this room combined."_**

"Hi Chad," I ignored Kame's comment and greeted Chad without even turning around.

I didn't waste a whole year sitting around doing nothing. Urahara knows how to make me work; I can't complain though. He gets results. Even Kame noted how much I've improved with my abilities.

"Morning," Chad greeted me with his trademark few words then took a seat.

"Well," I started loudly to get all their attentions and stretched like a cat, "I suppose that I should get going on my way guys. I'll see all of you later. It was nice meeting you Rukia and I'm sorry you have to deal with Ichigo!"

There was a chorus of 'byes' as I waved on my way out of the classroom.

* * *

**_"Nori!" _**Kame's warning boomed through my head.

"I know. I know." I winced slightly in pain from Kame's loud and panicky voice as I walked faster.

I could feel it behind me; breathing louder and getting even closer no matter how much faster I walked. The vibrations that danced on the bottom of my feet showed me it was catching up. Electricity in the air that plucked at my skin told me I was running out of time. The very feeling of the impending doom that was in the dark behind me even screamed danger.

This Hollow wasn't anything like the little one that I disposed of last week; but it wasn't quite like the giant one that terrorized the streets shortly before Rukia showed up either. I was going to have to think things through carefully with this Hollow.

"Oh this one is going to taste delicious I bet."

I abruptly stopped when I heard that creepy voice. It was too close for my comfort. I spun around to face the beast, and what I saw wasn't pretty.

A squatted down hollow with gigantic arms and stout legs. Even with the way he stood he was still exceptionally tall compared to any Hollows I've seen personally; I'd say about 15 to 20 feet. The white mask that adorned his face looked like the devil's face, complete with two horns on the top.

"So now you choose to acknowledge me. Most humans would just run. You're an odd human for wanting a Hollow to be the last thing you see before you die!"

I jumped out of the way as one of his giant fists came down and left a small crater where I had been standing.

"I see. You're going to make me work for my meal! If that's how you want it!" He swept one of his hands towards me.

**_"Nori!"_**

_"Not right now, Kame!"_

It happened too fast for me to get out of the way, so I did the next best thing. I dug my feet into the ground, stuck my arms out, and braced myself in an attempt to catch his hand.

His fist hit my hands with such force it knocked the breath out of me and I skidded about two feet. Luckily the hit didn't throw me into any nearby buildings. I had hoped the Hollow would be deterred by my actions, but I got the opposite of that.

"You may be small and not have much speed. But I see you have strength. Too bad I'm going to kill you!" He bellowed out in a weird mix of laughter and yelling.

I was frozen in place; the fist of his that I had caught was still pushing against me. If I moved in an effort to get away from it I would be too slow and he'd succeed in throwing me into a building. I couldn't use my powers either- it'd attract way too much unneeded attention and I ran the risk of someone seeing. But if I didn't move or try to get away…

The Hollow bellowed out more laughter at his cruel joke. From the corner of my eye I could see him raising his other fist in preparations to swing it at me too. Kame was yelling and screaming in the back of my mind. My head was starting to sweat from both the effort of holding his first fist where it was and nervousness.

My ears started to ring.

He was going to pop the very life out of me by squishing me in between his fists. I was going to pop like a pimple.

Everything started to happen in slow motion.

His fist began its descent towards me.

It got closer.

I was going to die.

And suddenly it was… gone?

"AHHH! You son of a bitch!" The Hollow feel backwards onto the ground and so did I.

"Come on, Nori!" Some girl was screaming at me… trying to pull me away from the Hollow that was now missing an arm.

A boy with shocking orange hair holding a large sword landed on the ground in front of me.

What?

Everything suddenly sped up to normal speed.

"-ave to move out of the way so Ichigo can take care of it." I looked up to see Rukia.

"Oh- okay." I allowed her to half drag me and half walk me a few yards away from the Hollow and Ichigo. I was still in too much shock from the near death experience to properly function.

"Are you okay, Nori?"

I looked at her and gave her a half smile, "I'm as okay as a person that just barely escaped death can be."

"I know it's hard to believe that something like that exists but it's a-"

"Hollow. And you and Ichigo are Soul Reapers." I finished for her.

My eyes registered the shock on her face, "How do you know?"

By the time I had finished explaining everything to the small Soul Reaper Ichigo had finished off the giant hollow and was walking back over to us.

"Hey Rukia, I-" he stopped short when he saw both of our expressions, "What's wrong?"

Needless to say, Ichigo was surprised to hear the news and his face showed it as Rukia relayed the information that I had just given to her. Then after it all registered he was slightly pissed that I knew all about this cool stuff before he did.

* * *

"No." Everyone looked at my response in wonder. "I'm not going to let someone just take Rukia like that. Not without a fight."

I had grown close to Rukia while she was here in the Living World. We bonded over people insulting our drawing skills and making fun of Ichigo. She even gave me a few pointers on fighting and Hollows and I showed her some new moves that would be easier for her to use in her gigai.

Despite my hard exterior and 'tough love' ways, all of my friends were dear to me. I wasn't about to just someone take her like that and make void in my heart.

Ichigo nodded and the whole group listened intently "That's why I'm going to go save her."

I looked at everyone's faces. Chad's, Orihime's, and Uryu's. "And you're not going to do it alone. We'll have your back the whole time."


	5. One of a Kind

CHAPTER 5

**A/N: First off I'd like to thank the two users that reviewed, Scarlett Foxie and 2 lazy 2 login, for reviewing my story 3**

**It was greatly appreciated! 2 lazy 2 login brought up the point that my story didn't have enough description, so I'd like to dedicate this chapter to them and description. Thank you so much!**

* * *

_"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster."_

I couldn't stop thinking about that sentence. That one lone sentence that my great-grandmother used to say very often. She was without a doubt a woman wise beyond even her great years. As a young child I had basically ignored the phrases and quotes she said, just wrote them off as old person talk- but now- now I really understand it.

Around me the tree branches rustled slightly as the wind danced with them. The small clearing I was in, which had been flat and unblemished ground earlier, was covered in divots and pieces of earth jutting out like the arms of resurfacing zombies. A haze of dust hung in the air.

**_"You did well today. I assume this newfound enthusiasm is for Kurosaki's sake?"_** Kame's question wasn't that much of an actual question.

"Yeah," I slapped my hands together in an attempt to regain some feeling in them, "I don't plan on going with him to just end up getting in the way." My mind flitted briefly to Orihime before I shook my head, "I love Orihime and all but… I worry she'll do more harm than good. I even worry more that in an attempt to help she'll just get herself hurt and someone will be left feeling guilty for that…Her heart is too big for her own sake."

I let out a hiss of pain as sensation suddenly came back to my hands and I was able to really feel the extent of my scrapes and cuts.

**_"Perhaps we should get you some protective gear before the departure. Not to mention that you and I need to discuss strategy."_**

I simply 'hm'ed at his suggestion then shot a glare off into the forest. A small bird hard started singing loudly and it caught me off guard. Trees. Trees always posed problems for my abilities; they distorted noise, interrupted my connection with the earth, and liked to allow me to jam my toes into their roots.

Kame started to babble slightly and I took that break as a chance to wipe the sweat off of my forehead and place my shoes back on. Urahara's shop was a reasonable distance away from this middle-of-nowhere clearing.

I took one last look at the slight mess I had made before walking in the direction that would lead me to my desired destination.

**_"There's going to be a few foreseeable issues when we get there."_**

Kame had easily caught my attention with that.

"What do you mean?" I questioned him as I stepped cautiously among the trees; I had to save what was left of my pinky toes.

**_"There are going to be many people there with high Spiritual Pressure, unlike anything you've experienced before."_**

I rolled my eyes a little bit, "Well I'm sure they're not going to walking around with all of it just hanging out. I'll be able to handle it."

**_"I'm not worried about you being able to withstand the initial pressure, Nori. You have more Spiritual Pressure and energy than you're aware of right now. What I'm worried about are the battles that could possibly happen. There are many strong people that will attempt to stop you."_**

Smiling softly I continued picking my way through the tall and ancient trees. If anything knows more secrets and has seen more crazy things than Kame, it's these trees. These trees must be wise with age. My great-grandmother was wise with age, Kame is wise with age, and Urahara is wise with age. I listen to all of them because of their wisdom, so perhaps if I-

**_"Nori! Are you even paying attention!?"_**

"Son of a-!" Kame's outburst shook my skull and scared the crap out of me. The only thing that hurt worse than my head was my pinky toe that felt like it was in my liver.

"Freaking- holy son of a- of all things great and freaking- ahhh!" I held my injured foot as I twitched on the ground for a minute.

Upon sitting back up I began muttering to not just myself, but also Kame. "What? What is so damn important?"

**_"Many components."_**

I sighed and pulled myself upright "Okay. Tell me all about it. I know you will one way or another." Limping slightly I continued on my way to the shop.

**_"There's energy everywhere in the Soul Society; even in the Seireitei the buildings and such are made out of energy. I am unsure whether if this will hinder your abilities or help you. We also need to address the situation of footwear for you-"_**

"That's simple," I interrupted Kame quickly, "I won't wear any. I can see better and feel things better without them anyway."

He sighed, **_"I had a feeling that you'd say that unfortunately. I had hoped that you would agree to wear something but I can see now that that was silly of me. Well you should at least get a pair of gloves or some article of clothing like that in order to protect your hands- never mind that. Let's look at the bigger picture. You need to get an outfit together that won't hinder your movements."_**

I sighed in relief as I finally stepped out of the forest. Now that I didn't have to worry about hitting any trees or roots, I could breathe easy. Stepping back a little I got a running start to jump over a rickety fence. I cleared it easily and landed with a small thump on the middle of the sidewalk.

"I'll make sure to do that when I get home. We have to leave tonight after all." I stuffed my hands into my pockets and continued on my way.

As I neared Urahara's shop the number of other people walking increased and I got some odd looks and double takes from people.

**_"You're covered head to toe in dirt. You look like a- how do you people say it- hobo."_**

I chuckled slightly as I rounded the corner into the lot that the shop sat on. As usual the two twerps were outside sweeping. Well actually Ururu was trying to sweep and Jinta was being a jerk to her.

"Hey," I smacked the back of his head to make him let go of Ururu's hair, "Do I need to Tessai to sort this out?"

Jinta looked slightly scared for a minute but then he gave me a nasty look. "Awe what are you doing here?! Why do you gotta ruin my day?"

I rolled my eyes but then started snickering quietly to myself when Tessai stepped out of the building to greet me. Jinta scrambled to pick up the broom and make himself look busy.

"Good afternoon Miss Ishikawa. If you're looking for Kisuke he's downstairs training Ichigo."

I smiled innocently at him slightly and nodded "Thanks Tessai. You have a nice day, alright? And keep an eye on that Jinta, he was working so hard when I showed up you just have to see for yourself." I could feel Jinta's eyes boring in my back but I decided to just ignore the twit.

Urhara's shop looked the same as always. Despite the drastic series of events that had happened over the last few months, this place always remained the same. As if it was unchanged by time.

I made my way into the back and over to the spot where I not only knew the hidden door was, but I could also feel it in the very slight vibrations of the mats. After I found out about that "little" hidden gem I became extremely suspicious of what other "little" secrets this shop could be hiding. Regardless though, it didn't really surprise me at all that a character such as Urahara had something up his sleeve like this.

"Ah why if it isn't Nori! You're looking very-" Kisuke cocked an eyebrow, "one with nature today."

"I was training." Was my only reply as I walked towards him and spirit Ichigo. I jumped up onto the rock that they were sitting on together, "As I can see you guys were as well."

"We just finished up for today actually," Kisuke explained to me as he fanned himself, "It's been a long day for all of us and you guys are leaving tonight. Which reminds me, keep your window open tonight. You'll receive a message when it's time."

I deadpanned at what he said. "You're too ominous, like really Kisuke. But," I scratched the back of my head, "too bad you're done training already. I was really looking forward to kicking Ichigo's ass again!"

"Go ahead if you wish, Miss Nori. When I said we we're done training I only meant Ichigo and I. Have at him."

I cracked my knuckles menacingly and Ichigo looked rather nervous. "Now, Nori, let's not do anything too rash here…" He held up his hands as a plea.

"Like hell I'll listen to you!" I could almost feel the evil glimmer in my eyes as I lunged at him, "Come here Ichigo! Let's have an all-out fist fight! Winner gets to live!"

* * *

It was just a matter of waiting now.

I had cleaned myself up, eaten, meditated, and got everything I needed for this once in a lifetime trip. Maybe calling it a trip was a little much, it was a mission. I needed to keep my head in the game and remember why we were doing what we were doing in the first place.

Sighing, I lay back on my bed and stared at my boring as hell ceiling.

"Ne, what do you think of my outfit, Kame? I did as you said; it's easy to move in and I even have nice gloves on." I examined the fancy leather gloves that I had pilfered from Yumiko's dresser.

**"It looks nice but I hope that the cheap fabric that all you humans use nowadays can hold up in a possible battle- not that we want to get into one. You're even wearing shoes. I have to say that I'm surprised."**

I personally didn't find the fabric of my outfit cheap, so I ignored Kame's comment about that and smiled at his sort of compliment. I was just a simple cherry blossom colored t-shirt with a pastel green sleeveless zip-up sweater. For pants I had also gone for a simplistic style and just grabbed the first pair jean shorts that I had.

Giggling a little I wiggled my toes, which were housed currently in a thin pair of black flats "Well I figured that it'd be a safer bet to have shoes on for running around- as soon as I get into a fight they're coming off though."

**"We don't want to get into a fight though, Nori." **Kame sounded rather annoyed.

"I know, I know but I'm just saying that-" I jumped as my bedroom door opened.

"Who are you talking to?" Yumiko gave me a displeased look I told her she was hearing things, "Well not matter. I'm going out with some friends for the night so behave yourself. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Actually you probably won't." I smirked at the idea of not having to deal with her.

She gave me an unreadable expression so I elaborated, "I told you that I'm going on a trip with a friend for a few days. I'm leaving really early so we probably won't see each other."

Yumiko simply rolled her eyes, "In that case just don't come back pregnant or something. Okay?" She didn't even wait for a reply- or my snide remark- so I rolled my eyes.

**"She's a piece of work."**

I snorted at Kame's response, "You've been hanging around me too long. Anyway, did you see how epically I kicked Ichigo's butt in a brawl? Man it was awesome!"

**"I don't recall any of that…"** Kame trailed off, **"Honestly I remember you leaving from training in the forest and then we were here…"**

Quietness settled between us as I took that in. Kame had told me that eventually one day he'd fade completely. I knew he knew what he was talking about but I hadn't been expecting it to happen so fast.

Sensing my worry about losing him Kame attempted to comfort me, **"Don't worry child. I'm still going to be here for a while. But we're not going to be able to change the fact that someday I will be gone, so you're going to have to start accepting that."**

I simply nodded, no longer in the mood for chitchat. A red blob whizzed by me from my window before splattering all over my wall. The red ooze dripped down the wall and wrote a message.

"Come on down, Nori!" I began to read it aloud, "It's time to play a rousing game of 'Have You Trained Enough to Survive the Soul Society?!'. So start heading down to my wonderful shop or I'll call you a scaredy cat for the rest of your life!" The feeling of dread began to grow slightly as I deadpanned at Kisuke's message.

"P.S. Have a sense of humor!" I rubbed my temples, making my way towards the window, "Kisuke, you are one of a kind."

**"That's one way to put it…"**


End file.
